FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $301.33.

Several equities analysts recently commented on FDX shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of FedEx from $327.00 to $351.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of FedEx from $279.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of FedEx from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. BNP Paribas restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Stephens dropped their target price on shares of FedEx from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th.

FedEx Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE FDX opened at $267.80 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $256.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $254.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21. FedEx has a 12-month low of $213.80 and a 12-month high of $291.27.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.95 billion. FedEx had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.41 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that FedEx will post 17.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. FedEx’s payout ratio is 29.07%.

FedEx announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the shipping service provider to reacquire up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FedEx news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other FedEx news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Tracy B. Brightman sold 2,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.69, for a total transaction of $703,009.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,735,192.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773. Insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FedEx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of FedEx by 1.6% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 6,326 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $1,833,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of FedEx in the first quarter worth $214,000. Jacobs & Co. CA increased its stake in shares of FedEx by 1.2% in the first quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 45,913 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $13,303,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of FedEx by 8.8% in the first quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 7,580 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $2,196,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. Finally, Navalign LLC increased its stake in shares of FedEx by 3.4% in the first quarter. Navalign LLC now owns 2,704 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.47% of the company’s stock.

About FedEx

FedEx Corporation provides transportation, e-commerce, and business services in the United States and internationally. It operates through FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Services segments. The FedEx Express segment offers express transportation, small-package ground delivery, and freight transportation services; and time-critical transportation services.